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One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop received two Gold IDEAs:
one in the Computer Equipment category and one in Design Strategy.
One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop - (Computer Equipment) designed by Yves Béhar, IDSA,
Bret Recor, Josh Morenstein, IDSA, and Nick Cronan of fuseproject for One Laptop Per Child
One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop - (Design Strategy) designed by Yves Béhar, IDSA, Logan
Ray and Angie Tadeo of fuseproject and Nicholas Negroponte of One Laptop Per Child
One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop
CONNECTING CHILDREN
TO EDUCATION
T
ypically, technology products for the developing world are hand-me-down versions of their
Western equivalents, with lesser technologies and of lesser quality. Additionally, these products
are not designed for their specific users or with their local conditions in mind. Low-cost products
are literally cheap (low tech and low quality). This is the paradigm that the One Laptop Per Child program
and the designers at fuseproject wanted to change. For the XO Laptop, low cost means the most advanced
and well-integrated technologies as well as high design—a true departure.
This revolutionary child-size laptop was conceived by the
nonprofit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), formed at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Nicholas
Negroponte. The group brings learning, information and
communication to children where education is needed
most: developing countries. Governments purchase these
laptops and then distribute them to schoolchildren for free.
The XO Laptop will be used by millions of children
worldwide in sometimes challenging environments. It is
designed to be resilient, portable and energy efficient.
Even with such a low price, it contains breakthrough technology (including some features
not found on current high-end laptops)
with a strong emphasis on design,
quality and tactility.
Spreading Learning
The strategy for this project was threefold: a design that
delivers innovation, is environmentally responsible and
enhances the product and improves the user experience.
The form factor was a priority from the start. The laptop needed to be small and lightweight for children, but
sturdy and robust enough to ensure years of durability and
prevent damage from natural elements. Because the laptop
is intended for children, the aesthetics needed to appeal to
children. It also needed be iconic—immediately recognizable as the OLPC XO Laptop.
By giving school systems an easy way to reach all the
children in a developing country, the XO Laptop connects
children to education in a completely new fashion. For
instance, school children are able to practice their intuitive
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abilities by teaching themselves to use this
self-tutoring machine. The laptop was
designed for the utmost simplicity. It is easily
operated in its various modes: laptop, e-book
and gaming. By bringing their laptop home
after school, the children continue to learn
and educate the world around them.
Furthermore, through owning a practical,
beautiful, tactile object, children acquire the
pride and dignity of having tool of their own.
Transformational Computing
The XO has also been touted as the greenest laptop on the
planet. It minimizes toxic materials, is extraordinarily rugged,
has a long life, works with renewable power sources and is
itself recyclable. Its power consumption is 14 times lower
than the current Energy Star mandate. Its green power
solutions include solar power, man power and multi-battery
chargers. As a result, it has far exceeded the most environmentally rigorous certification standards, achieving an
Energy Star 4.0 rating, the highest level available, as well as
a gold EPEAT rating.
Everything on the laptop serves at least two purposes for a sense of economy and efficiency. Antennas function dually as covers for the laptop’s USB ports and as
latches to close the clamshell. The handle doubles as an
attachment for a shoulder strap and as the foot that keeps
the screen and laptop stable. The surrounding colored
bumper insulates the laptop from falls as well as acting like
a seal to keep out dust. Its tactile ergonomic palm surface
also integrates the feet on the underside of the laptop. The
screen functions as both a colored image screen and a
high-contrast black-and-white screen for reading text, even
in the sun. In e-book mode, the wide track pad doubles as
a drawing/stencil tablet for learning to write.
Through the laptop’s powerful built-in Wi-Fi antenna, children can connect with each other, their schools and the web.
The laptops in a surrounding area are connected to one
another through a mesh network with three times the range of
a standard laptop. Since the school districts will distribute one
computer to each child, many Wi-Fi spots will automatically be
established across a town or village, in turn creating a Wi-Fi
network for an entire area. Since servers and satellite connections are often dropped in remote places, creating a local ad
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hoc network allows kids to connect from anywhere, ensuring access to their schoolbooks
and lessons directly from the school.
Into the Future
The combination of the laptop’s iconic design,
tactile robustness, dual-function components
and healthy dose of whimsy has contributed
to this strategy’s success. The continued
development of power accessories for the
laptop is a testament to the project’s focus on
the children and their environments from start to finish. The
XO Laptop and its accessories will continue to empower
children in developing nations for some time.
The OLPC program is currently in Argentina, Brazil,
Cambodia, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Pakistan, Thailand,
Uruguay, Peru, Ethiopia, Romania, Paraguay, Mexico,
Mongolia and China. With more than 700,000 laptops
already distributed and many more orders under way, the
success of the OLPC XO program continues to grow.
The XO’s success has also spawned the next-generation computer, the XOXO Laptop, which will be available in
2010. Children have an amazing capacity to let us know
how they use their laptop and what they want. The design
of the XOXO was energized by their passion for learning,
self-expression and sharing with each other.
With the XOXO we are challenging what a truly collaborative and creative computing experience could be—
a true departure from the traditional keyboard and screen
layout—and envisioning a new way to interface and play
with data, information and communication. Imagine if your
learning machine was an uninterrupted screen you could
interface with from any direction. Imagine if it was a reading
experience just like a book, and at the same time a seamless visual tablet. Imagine if children could play board
games (or computer games) sitting across from each other.
The XOXO is a book, a tablet, a board and, yes, a laptop too—if that is what you need. The design is still green
and white, but thin, simple and uninterrupted by keyboards,
buttons, speaker holes, input devices and visible connectors. And it is soft to the touch, like a piece of luggage—
everyday luggage you can take anywhere. The XOXO
should be the next learning object of desire, from Bogotá to
Istanbul to New York. ■
Article by Yves Béhar, IDSA
Yves Béhar is founder of the San Francisco design studio fuseproject and chair of the industrial design
program at the California College of the Arts. He is focused on humanistic design, creating projects that are
deeply in tune with the needs of a sustainable future, connect with human emotions and enable self-expression.
“
Brilliant design for an even better cause. From the physical design to the sociological impact, every element
of this laptop is exemplary of true innovation. This product is immensely practical and beneficial to all users
”
across the globe. Design at its best!
—Ryan Eder, IDSA, industrial designer, Priority Designs
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Umpqua Bank Design Strategy
DESIGN STRATEGY
PAYS OFF
T
he meeting was going well …until perhaps the inevitable question: “Have you ever done a bank?”
Our team shared nervous glances as we searched for the best way to answer our potential
client’s question. The few moments of silence felt like hours. We searched through our collective
memory for bank-related work we could discuss. There was no other way to answer the question. “No.
We’ve never done a bank.”
“You’re Hired.”
Ray Davis, the president and CEO of Umpqua Bank, wasn’t looking for a design firm to help him design a bank. He
was looking for a strategic partner to help Umpqua realize a
vision for a completely new retail banking experience—
something compelling, authentic and distinctly non-traditional in the banking world.
Originally founded to provide loggers and farmers
around Roseburg, OR, with a banking alternative, Umpqua
had earned a reputation for exceptional customer service; a
quirky, self-effacing style; and a willingness to take on the
establishment to meet the needs of its customers. These
values were not reflected in Umpqua’s bank branch experience, however. Umpqua wanted to bring its unique style of
community banking to residents of larger cities, and Davis
saw an opportunity to redefine what a retail banking experience can be.
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Turning the Movie into Reality
Davis had a vision for the bank, but he didn’t know what
that new experience would be like for customers. He was
looking for a firm that, as he described it, could “turn the
movie in my head into a reality.” He was certain of one thing:
that movie did not resemble a traditional bank.
Ziba was asked to create a design strategy that would
translate Davis’ vision and Umpqua’s unique communitybanking culture into an integrated retail brand experience.
We needed to redefine the experience of retail banking in
a way that would feel authentic to Umpqua’s existing customers while also resonating with a more urban audience.
The design strategy had to be forward thinking and flexible enough to evolve over time, enabling Umpqua to continue extending its brand into new branches, products
and services. And to be successful in its implementation
over the long term, the strategy would need to foster a
cultural transformation at Umpqua.
Article by Steve McCallion
Steve McCallion, the executive creative director at Ziba, brings a rare balance of design sensibility and
strategic thinking to help companies—including KitchenAid, Sirius Satellite Radio, Federal Express,
Umpqua Bank and Johnson & Johnson—create branded experiences that win in the market.
Umpqua Bank Design Strategy designed by Steve McCallion, Chelsea Vandiver, Elizabeth Blades,
Jon Irick, Insook Huh, Gwen Sullivan and Dardi Troen of Ziba Design for Umpqua Bank
“
I was struck by the audacity of the concept...Making the bank a place to linger and enjoy rather than the
“can’t wait to get out of here” mentality...I love taking the bank in a whole new direction foreign to anything
”
done before in this category. The Starbucks of banking!!
—Frank von Holzhausen, IDSA, president, Group Four, Inc.
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Mise-en-scene for a CEO’s inner movie, reinvention of
the entire retail banking experience and the transformation
of a corporate culture—any one of these would be a tall
order for a design firm. We had four months to complete our
research and develop an integrated retail experience strategy that would lay the foundation for all of the above. Davis’
movie would debut in the form of a flagship store (slated to
open in just nine months) and our strategy would inspire not
only the creation of new products and services, but also the
creation of a culture of innovation within the bank.
Connecting the Customer and the Brand
To create a meaningful retail experience for Umpqua we
needed to understand how people connect with the world
of banking and how, in turn, Umpqua can better connect
with people in that world. By uncovering these connection
points we were able to create a design strategy that was
authentic for Umpqua and meaningful for its customers.
We conducted ethnographic and perceptual studies to
understand what the experience of banking means to
Umpqua’s customers. We studied videotapes for insights
about where in the bank customers stood, stopped, looked
and moved. Observations were tabulated and condensed
into space planning perspectives. We also had customers
sort adjectives and images to help identify perceptions
regarding banking in general, Umpqua as a brand and
Umpqua’s competitors.
These efforts revealed a number of distinct factors that
influenced our design strategy. We learned that Umpqua’s
target customers—high-income households—distrust
large financial institutions, which they perceive to be
impersonal and off-putting. A common complaint was
that larger banks charge arbitrary fees for routine services. We discovered also that most people avoid going
into a bank since Internet banking and ATMs provide a
convenient alternative. To attract people to enter
Umpqua’s stores, we would need to create a retail banking
experience that went beyond the functional requirements of
efficient customer service. Our research also revealed two
common themes that connected Umpqua’s existing rural
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consumers with its new urban consumers: the desire to see
their communities thrive and the need for belonging.
Making a connection means having something to say.
We used our brand archetype and ethnography tools within Umpqua to help executives and staff move beyond the
typical vision and mission statement language.
Ethnography on site allowed us to see firsthand Umpqua’s
“authentic self.” Our researchers witnessed authentic caring
moments, such as a store manager giving Ray Davis homemade preserves, and motivational moments, such as the
inspirational stories shared by employees in the morning. We
also saw Umpqua’s drive for discovery and exploration. Our
proprietary archetype tools allowed us to sharpen Umpqua’s
understanding of its self and what it offers: safe exploration,
helpful tools and encouragement to build community.
Making the Connection:
Umpqua’s Integrated Retail Banking Experience
Searching through consumer and brand research, our
cross-functional team of branding and design strategists,
cognitive scientists, architects, industrial designers and
consumer insight specialists identified an opportunity to
position Umpqua as a quirky, friendly bank for people who
care about their communities.
Specifically, we identified an opportunity for Umpqua
to offer a slow banking experience. While other banks
continue to compete with the convenience of the
Internet and ATMs, Umpqua could provide customers
with intimacy, connectedness and a sense of belonging—a reason to go into the bank. We used the
metaphors of a café and community resource center and
created a visual language of modern craftsmanship to set
the tone for new store environments as well as a range of
new products, services and events.
We first applied our design strategy at Umpqua’s flagship store in Portland’s Pearl District in 2003. It invites customers to read the newspaper, enjoy a free cup of coffee,
surf the Internet and shop for banking products. The store
provides customers with an innovative banking experience
that encourages them to relax, browse and discover.
Shopping modules and merchandising tables promote special programs and encourage customers to act on their
financial future.
The project was not all smooth sailing, however. When
Davis first announced the program to his board of directors,
he met a lot of resistance. To demonstrate his confidence in
the program, he guaranteed that the bank would have $15
million in new deposits the first year. As the program began
to unfold and evolve, he raised his guarantee to $30 million.
The first week the store was open, it generated $1 million
in deposits. Nine months into the first year, Umpqua’s
new store had a record-breaking $50 million in deposits.
Building on the success of the flagship store, Umpqua
started rolling out the new retail banking concept to
Umpqua’s other branches. The bank took iconic elements
from the flagship store and applied them to new and existing “mini-Pearl” stores. While the build-out of these new
stores cost the same as that of traditional stores, the
mini-Pearls generate two-and-a-half times higher deposits,
have twice the average deposit balances, twice the average
loan balances and significantly higher cross-sells to highincome households.
Umpqua 2.0: The Innovation Lab
With the success of its flagship and next-generation stores,
Umpqua sought to push further the envelope of innovation.
Building on our design strategy, we worked with Umpqua to
create a new innovation lab store where the bank could test
a range of new products and services. In the fall of 2007,
the Umpqua 2.0 store opened in Portland’s South
Waterfront area.
The innovation lab further extends the concept of
slow banking to create an experience built on the concepts of technology and community networking. An interactive community wall displays neighborhood photos and
reminds people of the community’s common financial goal.
Umpqua sponsors a number of community events open to
the public, including book signings, investment clubs and
lectures. Customers can surf the Internet and use interactive touch screens to explore a range of products and ser-
vices. Main Street features Umpqua small businesses and
invites people to sign up for Umpqua Rewards, a loyalty
program that pays points for doing business with other
members. The message of Umpqua 2.0 is clear: Umpqua is
the community bank.
A Culture of Innovation
Our design strategy went well beyond its physical impact; it
also helped create cultural cohesion around Umpqua’s
vision. Involving key members of the organization in the
design process enabled them to internalize a shared
understanding of the brand values. The stores themselves
have helped Umpqua’s employees understand how customers value the bank’s unique heritage and culture. Seeing
how that connection could be turned into meaningful brand
experiences set in motion a transformation across the organization, fostering a corporate culture of innovation that
Umpqua carries forward to this day.
Umpqua has formed an in-house creative team that
continues to build on our design strategy. The team has
developed a range of new products, services and events
that extend the Umpqua brand experience beyond their
stores, including a local music program, an ice cream truck
and a lemonade stand start-up kit called “Lemonaire” that
helps children learn about money and business.
By translating the culture of a small-town bank into an
integrated brand experience that fosters a sense of community in both rural and urban neighborhoods, the Umpqua
retail design strategy has helped Umpqua grow from $120
million to $8 billion in assets in just 10 years. The design
strategy also has resulted in a number of intangible benefits,
including considerable press coverage. In addition, Umpqua
reports that it is now easier to recruit new employees.
Umpqua’s universal associates—or tellers, as they are called
in other banks—rave about the new stores, saying they are
excited to come to work every morning. Umpqua believes
that its in-store experience played a critical role in being
named one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies.
Clearly, the stage is set for Umpqua to provide superior customer service in a community banking environment. ■
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■ Silver Winner. ■ Bronze Winner. *Concept winner. **IDEA/Brasil winner.
Finalists in this category can be found starting on page 208.
CONSUMER
INKJET
DESIGN
1. HEWLETT-PACKARD
LANGUAGE
Designed by Paul Bradley, IDSA, Jan Raken, Ralf
Groene, John Lai, IDSA, and Gregory Germe of IDEO; and Dan
Caputo, Mike Derocher, IDSA, Dan Dwyer, Justin Francke, John
Guenther, IDSA, Pete Hwang, David Leong, Michael Leman, Chris
Lim, Sam Lucente, IDSA, Dario Miticocchio, I/IDSA, Maria Tate,
Mylene Tjin and Howard Wong of Hewlett-Packard ■ Consumer Inkjet
Design Language (CIDL) is an ecologically considered design language
for a series of inkjet printers. CIDL printers are designed without the use
of metallic paint to enable recycling at scale, a significant detail in an
industry that relies on metallic-painted parts to differentiate brands and
products. CIDL printers are for personal use and feature an interface and
operation much like typical inkjet printers.
2. NYC CONDOM DISPENSER/NYC CONDOM WRAPPER
Designed by Yves Béhar, IDSA, David Riofrio, Josh Morenstein, IDSA
and Giuseppe Della Sala of fuseproject for New York City Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene ■ The New York City Condom and
Dispenser is an initiative of the NYC Department of Health, since the free
distribution of condoms is an effective measure against HIV infection and
unwanted pregnancy. Reminiscent of a condom shape warped into the
surface of a leather wallet, the NYC Condom Dispenser’s approachable
shape and friendly brand helps create an air of openness and acceptance. The visual icons of the NYC Condom and Dispenser helped raise
awareness and adoption of the condoms and drove installation of the
dispensers by private businesses and public organizations.
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3. U-BOX-IT Designed by Daniel Mammone of U-Box-It (Canada) ■
U-Box-It is a one-time-use container designed for do-it-yourself home
renovation and clean up. It was designed to fill the gap between municipal curbside collection and large metal commercial containers, both of
which require a large area and can cause property damage. U-Box-It is
lightweight and compact. Consumers can conveniently purchase it, flat
packed, at any retail outlet and it will fit in most cars and minivans. The
versatility of U-Box-It allows a user to load the container in the garage,
backyard or alleyway, or fit it in tight places, such as the service elevators of condominiums, apartments or office buildings.
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